The Battle of Evermore
by C.M. Kelly
Summary: Part 5: Fi's latest standoff lands her in the hospital. Jack refuses to leave her side, even if that means cutting short the reunion with their mother. Molly and Carey continue the hunt for "the" demon on their own, and are forced to make some sacrifices in the process.
1. Chapter 1

"I'm pretty sure you can't hear me. But if you can, when you wake up, if you can just… act like you couldn't, okay? Or I'll be really embarrassed I said this out loud. This, situation, with you in here, hooked up to these… machines… This wasn't part of the game plan.

"Reuniting with Mom, saving Dad, killing the demon, it's all important, sure. But not as important as having our family back together. Having you back in my life, protecting you. It's a job I wouldn't give up for anything.

"See, I don't _care_ about hunting monsters. I mean, I do. I'm good at it, and it needs to be done. But that's not why I pulled you away from college. I figured, having the three of us back together, you, me and Mom, fighting on the same team for once instead of going at each other's throats… we could be a family again.

"But I messed it all up, Fiona. I let the fantasy of getting my family back interfere with reality. If I had just kept driving that night, past Stanford and onto Jericho myself, you would've made it to that interview, and it would've been all uphill from there. Married, with a job… a real, honest job.

"Instead you're here. Maybe it is part of some predetermined destiny. Or maybe I'm just a sad excuse for a big brother, for a son, who can't handle being alone."

Jack hid his face in his hands. He hadn't left Fi's room since he'd reached the hospital. Everyone kept telling him she would be fine. He couldn't eat even though his stomach panged, and he spent the first night sleeping upright in that same chair.

His reunion with his mother had been one long hug, with a few tears of joy but mostly of frustration and regret. Then they sat in silence for hours. Carey too. He hadn't left Molly's side.

He could almost hear Fi screaming at them to go! move! stop wasting precious time staring at her, and catch up with that son of a bitch that killed Dad. But he couldn't. And the hours ticked away.

Around hour 27, Molly and Carey made a run to the hospital cafeteria.

"I brought you this," Molly said when she returned, handing Jack a bag of trail mix. "They don't let you take the food out of the cafe. There's a vending machine down the hall…"

He accepted the bag and placed it immediately on the plastic bedside table.

"Baby, you need to eat. Take a break," she insisted, but Jack ignored her. He kept his eyes transfixed on the floor tile.

_I'd rather starve_, he thought.

The air started to get thick. Carey had known better than to say anything, and remained close to the doorway.

The room became silent again, save for the steady beep on the EKG. And just as it had happened hours before, the peace was broken by a rambling apology from Molly.

"…it was to protect us… you know I would never…"

Jack caught bits and pieces. He didn't care anymore. He didn't need an explanation. They were all here, together. Couldn't she see that was enough?

Until he thought he heard her say something about the Colt. He lifted his head.

"The Colt," she repeated. "Where is it, Jack?"

"You can't be serious," he mumbled.

"I need to get back out there, stay on top of this demon before he catches up to us."

"How can you be okay with leaving Fi here?"

Jack couldn't fathom what Molly was suggesting. She would leave her own daughter alone in a strange hospital to pursue some demon?

"Baby…" she said carefully, "people are out there, dying. People like Annie, who needed our help. Trust me when I say Fi's going to be fine."

"Everyone keeps saying she's going to be fine! How could they know that? Look at her!" he spat, balling his fist.

"Please, Jack. Everything's happening as it's supposed to, and I could really use your help."

Jack was too upset then to inquire further about what Molly meant by "as it's supposed to".

"I'm not leaving her," he'd protested. "When she wakes up, she's going to be looking for me. And I'm going to be here."

"Fine," she surrendered. "Will you give me the gun?"

"Take it. It's in the trunk. I don't care anymore."

Molly frowned and made her way to the doorway, to Carey.

"I need a few minutes," she told him, and Jack listened to her heels click their way down the hallway and out of earshot.

Carey lingered for a moment, as if deciding who needed him more. He apparently concluded it was Molly, because when Jack finally removed his hands from his temples and looked toward the door, Carey was gone.

So here he was, alone, talking to himself while Fiona slept. His eyes were getting heavy, his energy was dwindling. He glanced over at the bag of trail mix still on the table beside him, then shifted to Fi.

"If this is our destiny… I say screw destiny," he resumed in a whisper. "I'm going to save you no matter what."


	2. Chapter 2

_Side by side, we wait the might of the darkest of them all_

_I hear the horses' thunder, down in the valley below,_

"_I'm waiting for the angels of Avalon, waiting for the eastern glow."_

Kayla sang along to the radio, hands gripped tightly around the steering wheel. She couldn't call with news like this. The words she carried came straight from the lips of the angel of death. She'd become the Paul Revere of the impending apocalypse.

Jack and Fi's battle would not occur solely for vengeance this time. Not this generation. Their battle would be for all the marbles – life on earth as we know it. The demons were betting on their own horse to win the race, and would do anything they could to make sure Fiona and Jack would fail.

Kayla pulled into the parking garage of the hospital. She hit a red button and watched the striped barricade rise to let her car pass underneath.

_This can't wait_, she reminded herself, though nothing could subside her guilt. Who was she to show up in the middle of a family's private moments, and bearing such heavy news?

_The apples of the valley hold, the seeds of happiness,_

_The ground is rich from tender care, repay, do not forget, no, no…_

"_Dance in the dark of night, sing to the morning light,"_ she completed the lyric as the radio faded to static. She parked in the brightest area of the garage and made her way to the stairs, each click of her heels working lumps into her throat.

By the time she found Fiona's room, she felt physically ill.

She had never seen Fi in person before. The girl, who had been the hero of countless stories she'd heard in her years as a hunter - the years since meeting Jack and Molly – was now hooked up to monitors, colorless and still, and it rose goose-bumps on her skin.

Worse still was seeing Jack, his face in his hands, looking like anyone else in this hospital. It's funny how the heroes of hospitals are thought only to be the doctors and nurses. What of the loved ones who sleep upright in plastic chairs night after night?

Kayla almost turned to walk away, but she knew how important her mission was. She had to tell Jack, now, while there was still time.

She closed her eyes and knocked softly on the doorframe.

Jack raised his head. He had circles beneath his eyes.

"Kayla," he whispered. "Hey."

She couldn't help but smile when he said her name.

"Hey," she responded, unsure how else to start.

Jack kept his eyes on her, and somehow, her news seemed far less urgent than it had been on the drive over. Perhaps the tank of gas she'd burned through to get here was for something much less important in the grand scheme of things than the fate of the world.

"I'm sorry, Jack. I heard what happened and wanted to make sure everything was okay… How are you doing?"

"Fine. I'm fine, thanks."

He leaned backward and cupped his elbows. She suddenly remembered the comfort of his embrace, his arms draping a warm blanket around her blood-soaked body, hugging her when she demanded answers. That was years ago, but she used that memory to make it through some of her toughest fights.

"Good. And how is…?"

Kayla motioned to Fi. She found she couldn't speak her name. This helpless young woman was not Fiona Phillips, she'd decided, at least not the Fiona Phillips she'd constructed in her mind.

"They say she's getting better."

"Great," she smiled again. "That's great. I, uh, I brought a gift, for the both of you."

The words were right there on the tip of her tongue, just as she'd rehearsed. She'd give them the charms, she'd explain why, and she would leave. Message delivered. Back on the road.

She tossed Jack a palm-sized burlap bag. He opened it and poured out the pair of charms into his open hand. They looked like little stars.

"They're for protection," she began.

"Thanks. We need all the help we can get."

"That's why I'm here, see… things… things will be alright, Jack," she said suddenly. She couldn't do it. Not here, not with Fi like this, and Jack so weak.

They went quiet. A look of disappointment appeared on both of their faces.

"Okay... I, have to go. Take care of yourself."

Jack nodded. Kayla turned to leave but her hand latched onto the doorframe and swung her back around.

"Give me a call… when your sister wakes up, okay? I found a huge lead on that demon you're after. The biggest lead… It's important-" she stumbled over her words but she was glad to be getting them out. The burden of them lifted slightly with each syllable.

Jack sighed, cutting her short. "I'm no longer interested in the demon."

Kayla was stunned. "But Jack," she whispered. "Your family…"

"This is no longer a family issue," he said coldly. "Call my mom with the lead. In the meantime, I'll be here."

"No- no, problem," she stuttered, holding back tears. "See you soon, Jack."

Jack gave a minor wave in response.

Kayla exited the hospital as quickly as she could, embarrassed. She called Molly as soon as she hit the lobby and gave her a brief summary of what she'd learned while she climbed the stairs of the garage. She ended the call and dug for her keys, trying very hard to erase Jack's reaction from her mind, but failing at it. His cold tone, that look on his face. Defeat. He'd thrown in the towel before the fight had even begun.

She slammed the car door shut behind her and buried her face in her arms, letting out a frustrated cry. She gave a hard shove to the dashboard, followed by a few open-palm hits to the steering wheel… when the lights surrounding her car in the parking garage began to flicker… flicker… and burst.


	3. Chapter 3

"Molly, where are you going?"

Carey broke into a jog to catch up with Molly, who was nothing more than a dark blur rounding corners paces ahead. She wore black from head to toe, like always, and disappeared and reappeared between the overhead lights of the garage.

"Molly!" he repeated, finally catching up. He swung her around. She was crying. She quickly brought the back of her hand to her eyes and wiped away the evidence.

Carey hesitated to hold her. Sometimes she'd collapse into him, other times she'd push him away. He needed to be held. The stress of the last few days were weighing on him. He couldn't bear to be rejected in this moment, not with everything else going on.

She reached out and cupped his face in her hands, but said nothing. She gave him a pleading look to leave her be, and continued toward the car.

This only made Carey angry. He wasn't just the guy who carried the duffel bag while she fought the monsters, damn it. Not anymore.

An old friend had bled out in his arms. He'd watched Fi, who had been like a sister to him, go blue in the face and lay helplessly on a cold kitchen floor, until she was lifted into an ambulance and rushed out of sight. He'd stood over her hospital bed for hours with a hand on Molly's shoulder, silently praying for her, for Molly, for Jack, for himself, to make it through.

He was a soldier now, just like the rest of them. And he was to be treated as such. He was ready to fight.

"You're really leaving her? What the hell is wrong with you? She needs you! Jack needs you!" he growled. His voice echoed through the garage. For the first time in a long time, he was intimidating.

Before he could say another word, Molly slapped him across the cheek. Despite his height, she brought her face close to his and through gritted teeth, hissed, "I've sacrificed everything for my family and I _will not_ stop now. I am ending this if it kills me, for _them_. Do you understand?"

Molly stared down Carey for several beats.

"Yes," he finally replied.

"Good."

Once they reached the Mustang, she motioned to Carey to open its trunk. She tucked the Colt under her jacket, gently closed the trunk door and tossed the keys back to Carey.

"You drive," she instructed. "I need to make some calls."

Carey obliged and got behind the wheel. He'd seen Molly get this way once before. He knew she didn't mean to be so cruel. When it came to her kids, she was ferociously protective. He was wrong to imply she didn't care.

Just as Molly brought her cell phone out from her jacket pocket, it lit up. She looked to Carey before answering, concerned.

"Kayla? Is everything alright?" she answered without a "hello".

Carey could hear a woman's voice on the other end speaking very quickly.

"Well, if you run into the bitch before we do, give her this message," Molly said with a smirk, "if she wants us, come and get us."

She ended the call, and said nothing more.

The streetlights passed faster and faster. Carey looked repeatedly to the passenger seat. Molly cranked the window open and let the wind blow on her face, still silent.

"So, are we going to address that, or…" Carey finally said, nervously.

"That was another hunter – Kayla – bigger on research than killing, but a hunter nonetheless. She's got a thing for Jack, did some digging for us."

"Okay, great. What'd she find?"

"Some of her people trapped a demon up in Sioux Falls. They performed an exorcism. The demon started spitting out something about more of his kind 'going topside' in preparation for a big showdown."

"The fight you've been prepping for? I imagined the demon gossip mill to be juicier, no offense. I mean, in demon years, these fights are happening all the time, aren't they?"

"Once every twenty-three years. Sometimes the battles go on for days, sometimes for months, sometimes for a decade, but twenty-three years. That's the cycle."

"So why are demons suddenly gathering for this one?"

"Kayla was talking fast. It didn't make a whole lot of sense. But I got the message loud and clear: They're increasing in numbers to speed up their search for Fi. _My_ Fi… I'm glad we got out of that hospital when we did. If they'd found us, found out she's the only one left… and that she has her senses back… they'd have killed her before we could do a thing to stop it."

"Her _senses_?"

"… I'm sorry if this comes across as heartless, Carey. You know me. You know I would never say something like this unless it was absolutely true, but… Annie _had_ to die. Please, hear me out. She had to, to transfer her abilities back to Fi."

"That's what she told us, before she died. Oh, God. I get it. I get it now, that's what she was trying to tell us."

"It was the only way," Molly affirmed. "Fiona needs to be the one to fight. And she needs to win."

Carey took a few minutes to fully absorb what Molly was telling him. He started to feel anxious and reached into his pocket for his cigarettes. He popped out the lighter from below the dashboard and brought it to his mouth. He rolled down the window with his other hand, momentarily steering the car with his knees.

"Can I?" Molly asked while taking the cigarette from his mouth. She took a long drag, then tossed the cigarette out the window.

"Hey-" Carey started to exclaim.

"Those things are disgusting. Cut it out."

Carey frowned and began to pull another cigarette from the pack, but stopped midway, put the pack back in his pocket and rolled up his window.

"So again," he said with a grimace, "what does all this Fi stuff have to do with the influx of demons walking the earth? And who is this 'bitch' you invited to come kill us!?"

"This fight is different. I think I know why… And the _bitch_ is a demon who calls itself 'Meg'. At least that's the girl it's possessing. The demon who cracked in Sioux Falls, he said she's our guy's right-hand-man. Meg can lead us to the one we're looking for."

"Oh… Shit."

"'Oh, shit' is right."

"… Shit," Carey repeated.

"Take the next right, highway southbound."

"Approaching the Highway to Hell, got it."


End file.
